Unfinished Symphony
by RealLuvAlways
Summary: Lucas & Felicity meet after following crush's Peyton and Ben. A journey to individual happiness and true love unfolds as fate takes over. Their crushes may have brought them to USC but it's Brooke who makes them stay & believe. Brucas/FAB/Jeyton. R&R!
1. Prologue

**Unfinished Symphony**

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Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: The story is from Felicity's perspective, but it revolves around OTH characters. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are loved!

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**Prologue**

Felicity looked down at her seventeen year old daughter's tear stained face, her own heart breaking. She knew first hand the agonies of love, but how was she to explain that to a teenager? How do you tell someone, there is no such thing as a fairytale love story, with out completely destroying any hope that they may have left? You see, Felicity thought…

_When you are young, it was okay to believe in fairy tales…that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming, castle on a hill, that gave you hope. Yes, those were the days, when it was simple…lying in bed at night, closing your eyes, and dreaming of the day, when all your inexplicable dreams would come true. You had absolute and utter, needless faith, back then. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, your very own Prince Charming, they were so close you could almost taste them. Unfortunately, we all grow up, and whether its like it was for me at 19, when I got my first taste of heartache, or at 17 like my daughter Zoë is realizing now…one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale seems to have vanished._

_When that happens, most people turn to the things and people they can trust, which is why I am sitting here on my daughters bed right now at 2 o' clock in the morning, combing through her hair with my fingers, as she sobs, trying to think of the right thing to say. But there is no right thing, because it's not easy to let go of that fairy tale, I sure didn't at her age, no one does it gently, and many never do._

_Instead of letting go, we turn to that tiny morsel of hope, or faith. We hold on to the conviction that one day, if we've been good enough, or waited just long enough, we will open our eyes and it will be as though nothing bad ever happened, like the hurt wasn't actually ever there, and the pages of the tale never stopped turning. _

_But any good woman knows… that doesn't happen. Here's the problem. From an early age, we women are set on auto-pilot waiting for that fairy tale to come to us, when in reality the only true fairy tales, if you want to call them that, are created within. We set these ridiculous standards, and build up walls and boundaries, in sight of finding the perfect lover, when really we should be focused on creating the perfect love. When things get messy, and disappointing …we get to the point where we feel like we are just walking along, wasting our time, and we give up…we lose our faith in love._

_Fortunately, faith is a resilient little thing, and sooner or later, someone or something will come around, when you least expect it, and hand you your faith back, giving you the courage to fight again. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you, restore you…and once in a while people may even take your breath away. Then you'll realize that the fairy tale you imagined, when you were young, isn't as amazing as you had once thought. You will learn to appreciate real love, the kind without the castle and white horse to cloud your judgment. _

_It is hard to find a love like that, and it doesn't often come around. You might have to bite into a couple rotten apples, and there will probably be a couple of very tasty ones along the way to distract you, but when that special someone does come along, you know it. You'll get butterflies no matter how many times you see them, you'll force yourself to enjoy the awful music they play, even let them eat your last spoonful of ice-cream, and it'll all be worth it. Why? Because they are worth it, and to be with them is better than any of that._

_So the point is, true love trumps any fantasy you may have had when you were young, but the road to true love, and true happiness is often bumpy. That is how you weave through the ordinary, the pretentious, and make it to the extraordinary. The one left standing, by your side, when it's all said and done, that is your real prince charming…your soul mate._

My daughter though, she doesn't need to know all that just yet. She'll live and learn the same way we all do. So when she just said to me, "Mom, it hurts so bad, when does the pain go away?" This is the answer I gave her:

"I dunno, sweetie. It's a long road, it's not fun, and it's not fair. Trust me…I wish I could take the pain away, but I can't. What I can tell you, what I will tell you, is what I believe in…what helped me along the way. And, you know what that is? Fate; it's knowing that everything happens for a reason, and believing that one day it will all make sense."

By the look on her face, as her tears slowly lessened, and she turned to embrace me, I knew she had turned the corner, and I was more than relieved. I had gotten my baby through her first real broken heart. So when she turned to me and asked, "how did you get so good at this?" I just smiled and laughed, doing my best to soak in that moment. After all, it isn't often that you here those words, especially coming from your teenage daughter.

"I lived it, just like everyone else does, and you will too…" I told her.

"Well, how did you know that dad was the one?"

I laughed again. _What a road her father and I traveled to get to each other! It's a miracle we made it!_ I answered the best I could…

"Well, if you'd ask your Uncle Lucas, he would tell you that I knew all along…that there was a moment when everything changed. I would say, you can't know whom that person is, the person who will ultimately become your soul mate…but you can take a chance on someone and follow your heart when it feels right. Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can pretty much change your life forever. I didn't know it then, but I guess you could say that the moment when everything changed, was when I took a chance on your dad...it just took both of us a long time to realize that.


	2. Unfinished Symphony

**Unfinished Symphony**

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**Disclaimer: **These characters belong to Mark Schwahn, J.J. Abrams, and the CW, I own none of them. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary: **This is the story of Felicity Porter and Lucas Scott, on their journey to finding individual happiness and true love. Both made a brash decision, after graduation, to follow their respective high school crush, Ben Covington or Peyton Sawyer, across the country to college. As fate steps in they will soon learn that, "sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can pretty much change your life forever."

**Spoilers: **Their crush's may have gotten them to USC but it is Brooke Davis who makes them stay and believe!

Also, unlike in the show "Felicity", which is set in NYC, my story takes places in reverse, with them in college at USC, in Los Angeles, California. OTH's Lucas Scott, a literary student and aspiring author and Peyton Sawyer, an art history student and music production assistant, join Felicity Porter a pre-med student and Ben Covington, an undecided student-athlete. Brooke Davis, Felicity's roommate, fashion merchandizing student and clothing designer and Jake Jagelski, a struggling single father and LA musician are also main characters. Felicity's Noel Crane, a NYC native and computer-programming student is Lucas and Ben's RA.

**Author's note: **I hope you like what I have so far. Reviews are welcomed and loved!

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**Unfinished Symphony**

…_**I know that I've imagined love before**_

_**And how it could be with you**_

_**Really hurt me baby, really cut me baby**_

_**How can I have a day without a night**_

_**You're the book that I have opened**_

_**And now I've got to know much more…**_

It was a beautiful day in sunny Los Angeles, not a cloud in the sky. It was perfect weather for the first day of school, and Felicity was experiencing just that; her first day of college. She was alone, miles away from her family, but for some reason she felt more whole, and stronger than she'd ever felt in years.

Felicity stood for a moment, taking it all in before she embarked on the rest of the days tasks. The campus was amazing; it was so open and inviting. More and more thoughts rolled through her head as she walked up to the section of the campus marked off for freshmen orientation.

She was scared, lonely, excited, and as always a tiny bit awkward, or as she liked to say; she was quirky. Nonetheless, she made her way through the masses, finally finding the booth marked for students with last names that fell between P-S. Felicity followed the sea of students, and got in line with everyone else.

There had to be more than 200 people in line ahead of her, but there was nowhere else to go, there wasn't anything she could do about it now. She knew registration was going to take forever, and with that realization her nerves finally got the best of her, as they often did, and her inner most thoughts emotions came piling out, hitting her all at once.

"Oh my gosh what was I thinking? Going to college in California…at USC…following Ben? I mean do these people even wear clothes? Every girl around me looks like a freaking sports illustrated supermodel, and look at me, scrawny curly haired mess, with hush puppies on! I'm and idiot, such an idiot…it was only a yearbook, I can't believe I actually am here right now, because of a damn yearbook signing. I mean, he probably wrote the same thing in every pathetic girl's book that he didn't know!"

Felicity was nearing her breaking point; she could tell. She had been about 5 seconds from a complete meltdown, when she heard someone behind her laughing, softly, in her direction. It wasn't a malicious laugh; in fact, it was sort of comforting in a way, like an "I know what you're going through" type of laugh.

She quickly spun around to meet the student behind her, who was beginning to address her.

"Are you okay, you sound a pretty stressed. I take it you aren't from California?" The lean, blonde headed man asked.

"No, Connecticut…how'd ya guess" She replied, embarrassed.

This guy must have been listening to her all along, but up until that point she hadn't even realized she had been blabbing out loud!

"Well, neither am I…It's Lucas, Lucas Scott, Tree Hill, North Carolina, born and raised." He said proudly. "And the lack of flesh showing gave it away."

"Uh my name is Felicity Porter, and yea I mean can you believe what these people are wearing, half of them have more revealing daywear than my swimwear is."

"Well, glad to meet you Ms. Porter, it's nice to find someone who understands the concept of clothing around her…now what's this that I heard you mumble, about a yearbook getting you here, all the way from NYU…I don't know if I believe it" He said with a smirk.

"It's sorta a long story, well actually its really not, well I guess that depends on your definition of long…"

She was getting tongue-tied as usual trying to explain it. Eloquence was not Felicity's forte, well at least when she had an audience. Just then an image, and outline of a person, appeared in the distance. It was like everything else in time stood still in that moment. It was a man, she affirmed, and he was standing at the top of the staircase, looking down on every one. Yep…tall, blonde, and handsome, the outline of his face matched, it had to be Ben.

…_**The curiousness of your potential kiss**_

_**Has got my mind and body aching**_

_**Really hurt me baby, really cut me baby**_

_**How can you have a day without a night**_

_**You're the book that I have opened**_

_**And now I've got to know much more…**_

You see, back where Felicity came from, Ben Covington…he was a legend, a hometown hero of Darien, Connecticut.

He was perfect; he had it all, she thought: looks, money, popularity, talent. Four years of high school she had watched him, from afar, waiting for the day when she might get up the courage to talk to him. And then one day it happened, she did it.

_It was the day of their high school graduation. That day Felicity Porter walked right up to Ben._

"_Hey, will you sign my yearbook?' She had asked._

_Like the perfect gentleman that he was, he had been more than happy to oblige such an innocent request. Now the hard part, for him, was deciding what to say. He barely knew the girl. He sat down to write it, not wanting to ever look impolite. His mother had taught him too well._

_By the time he had finished writing, and gave her back her yearbook, Felicity was entranced._

"_Thanks" was the only thing she could get out of her mouth, while she frantically scanned his words to her._

_**Dear Felicity, **_

_**Here it goes. I watched you for four years, always wondered what you were like, and what was going on in your mind all that time when you were so quiet, just thinking. Drawing in your notebook. I should've just asked you, but I never asked you. So now, four years later, I don't even know you. But I admire you. Well, that makes me sound crazy, but I'm okay with that. So take care of yourself.**_

_**Love,  Ben**_

_**P.S. I would've said, "Keep in touch," but unfortunately, we were never in touch.**_

_Keep in touch? She thought. Ben wanted to keep in touch with me!_

_So in that moment, Felicity took another huge chance, and called out to him, right before he would have walked out of her life forever…_

"_Hey Ben, where are you going to college?" She yelled._

_He turned back to say, "USC, playing basketball there, have a good summer," and waved good-bye._

Felicity was then brought back to reality, from the snapping of Lucas's fingers and waving of his hands in her face. The line was moving.

…_**Like a soul without a mind**_

_**In a body without a heart**_

_**I'm missing every part…**_

To Lucas it had been plainly obvious that she had been daydreaming of a different time and place. That was a feeling, which he was all too familiar with. In fact, I guess you could say that he two had his own little secret agenda in coming to California. Yes, he had also changed the course of his life, rather last minute. So, he related very much so to this new girl he just met. Like she had picked up and followed the illustrious Ben Covington, he was following the one and only Peyton Sawyer.

It's humorous actually, he thought. How we define ourselves…in the choices we make. Because…there is no rhyme or reason to any of it, no code or manual programmed into us…nope, we're left to only our own devices. And sometimes we manage to lift past them, to go beyond the quiet resilience of a dream…that is when we truly discover who we are, or uncover who we can be. One thing I do know is that the person you want to be does exist…somewhere on the other side of hard work, faith and belief. And, it's there, beyond the heartache and fear of what lies ahead, that our greatest truth and happiness is found…

…_**You're the book that I have opened**_

_**And now I've got to know much more…**_

So, sometimes it's the smallest decision, like asking someone to sign your yearbook, which can change your life completely…forever.

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******The lyrics used are from Unfinished Symphony, by Massive Attack******


	3. Strange & Beautiful

**Unfinished Symphony**

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**Disclaimer: **These characters belong to Mark Schwahn, J.J. Abrams, and the CW, I own none of them. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note: **I hope you like what I have so far. The updates won't be as frequent as I like but I have another story that I am focusing on right now. Reviews are welcomed and loved! If I get more readers I will be more motivated to get this story rolling! BTW...Peyton gets him to USC, but it's Brooke who makes him stay.

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**Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)**

…_**I've been watching your world from afar,**_

_**I've been trying to be where you are**_

_**And I've been secretly falling apart, unseen.**_

_**To me, you're strange and you're beautiful…**_

Lucas and Felicity had finally made it through registration, and were now rummaging through his belongings, quickly sorting through his new dorm room. His roommate had already moved his stuff in and assumed one side of the room. From the looks of it, whoever it was had been staying there for a while, maybe even the past couple of weeks. The trash was full, and there were several gallons of water in the closet. Lucas gathered from the jerseys lying out and the storm shelter allotment of stored water that his roommate was probably an athlete, a basketball player to be more precise. He felt like that might be comforting, considering he had recently given up basketball, because of his heart condition.

He then grabbed a stack of papers, of sketches, from his bag and started fishing through them. Felicity looked on from the twin-sized bed she had just finished making up with his flannel bedding. The two of them had just finished discussing how they had each come to attending the University of Southern California (USC). By some strange twist of fate, they had both ended up making last minute changes, which got them there. Similarly, both Felicity and Lucas's life altering decisions had been prompted by a chance encounter; a defining moment, at the end of High School, with their respective long-time crushes Ben Covington and Peyton Sawyer.

For Felicity it had all boiled down to what Ben wrote in her yearbook, and how that made her feel. That single paragraph he wrote to her motivated and gave her enough courage to ditch medical school; thus following him out here to Los Angeles. It was a terrifying, yet exhilarating feeling that she had right now. The unknown can be quite scary if you have to go at it alone, but luckily she had found a confidant in Lucas. Felicity had finished by then, and only summarized for him with her closing remarks.

"So, basically I've given up everything my parents ever planned for me, everything I ever expected...all for a boy I don't even know." She explained, while methodically playing with her hair.

She continued robotically, pulling one of her many kinky curls till it was straight, and then releasing it, to spring back, to its original spiral. That was what Felicity did, something she had been doing since she was a little girl, when she got nervous. It drove her crazy that she could let her emotions get the best of her, like that.

"You think that's bad?" Lucas said back to her, joining in on the apparent pity party. "Check this out… You wanna know what Peyton wrote to me in my yearbook? Peyton Sawyer. Yep, you know how hard I worked to get my yearbook in front of her? And then she signs her damn name. I was crushed."

The two laughed hysterically, at their pitiful portrayals, and Lucas then moved to join her on the bed. He began showing her the drawings he had held in his hand moments early. Felicity examined them with a careful, and attentive eye.

"They're unique. Beautiful even, in a strange way, but so dark," she commented. "Did you draw these?" She finally asked, after thumbing through all of them.

"No, Peyton did, these sketches are sort of like your yearbook, since well…obviously the whole yearbook signing strategy didn't work so well for me."

"I don't get it, how do you have these if they are hers? Did she make this for you?"

"No, she didn't. I was standing right there, when she had thrown them out. It was the day she left to come to California, I think. Anyways, I tried to stop her. But, she told me that her art didn't matter, because it didn't change the fact that people always leave…"

"That's awful, she's really good. I mean, I've always dreamt of being an artist, I paint, but I don't have half the talent she does."

"Yea well, I know she's good, in fact she's great, but she doesn't believe it." He said solemnly, and pausing. "I took her artwork, and you know how you talk about Ben, and just knowing?"

"Just feeling," She corrected. "We can't really _know_ anything."

"Right, well…there's just always been this thing with her, this unspoken connection. I mean, I've never really had a real conversation with her, but I'd always felt like if we had that chance…well, that it'd be different somehow, and that's why I came here. It was her art…because it does matter, it's what got me here… and I just felt like I had to make a move, you know…take a chance, and tell her that…"

"Yea, I totally get it."

The two sighed, and lay back on the bed looking up at the ceiling. They patiently assessed their current situations for another few minutes, in peace. Felicity couldn't believe her luck, finding this amazing guy that totally got her. He felt the same. Then after a while Felicity left and headed towards the residence hall across the courtyard, where she knew her dorm room and roommate would be waiting. Before she had left Luke's, they agreed to meet back up in a couple hours to get their student I.D.'s made.

…

She was a little bit stressed walking up the stairs to her room. Knowing that the amount of unpacking she would have to do was substantial caused her to linger a while longer in the stairwell. When Felicity eventually had arrived at her room, the door was already propped open. She was anxious to meet her new roommate, but slowly entered the room hoping not to make a scene. If there had to be one thing she hated most in life, it would have to be making a scene. That she was certain of. It made her nervous just imagining it, all that attention, of having all eyes on her. It was a pure nightmare, in her opinion.

Once inside, Felicity took one look around her new room, and declared it to be homey. _Just right,_ she thought. The room was actually rather small, much smaller than the bedroom that she had occupied all by herself back in her parent's house, but it was quaint nonetheless. To her, it seemed, everything here was a new adventure.

For starters, she would have to share a living space with another person; something that she had never had to do before. Then, there was the whole issue regarding the bathing situation, or lack there of. Her idea of a bathing situation did not entail multiple stalls, where people would shower all at once, and she was not feeling confident about having to be so uninhibited. She often had to remind herself that this was all part of the college experience, which was what she claimed to have wanted.

She then noticed her roommate standing on a tiny ladder in the corner. She was a petite brunette, close to Felicity in height. She was thin, but not stick thin or flat chested like Felicity was. _No, my roommate has perfectly proportioned curves_.

Felicity paused then for a minute, watching the persistent brunette continue her failed attempts at expanding the allotted closet space. _This is actually quite remarkable she might really pull this off, and double the space_, the curly blonde thought to herself, as she tried to decipher what it was that the girl had in her hands. She was using some kind of contraption, which Felicity had never seen before.

"Hey," Felicity called out, trying to grab the girl's attention away from what she was doing.

It didn't take much. In fact, after only one try her roommate had immediately turned around, facing Felicity for the first time, giving her a large, and welcoming bright smile. The curvy brunette quickly bounced over to where she was standing. At that particular moment all Felicity could think about was how gorgeous her roommate was.

_This is so unfair,_ she thought. _My roommate is one of them! No, worse, she looks like a Victoria Secret model, only a miniature version with porcelain skin like a doll! Great, just great! This is just wonderful, now I'll have this example of perfection to wake up to every morning…_

"Hi, I'm so glad you finally made it, I'm Brooke Davis," the girl declared, holding out her hand to shake, then taking it back and going in for a hug. "Oh, what the hell right? Were gonna be living together, might as well get acquainted.

Brooke laughed along with Felicity, though now she could swear that Brooke was studying her, and it started to make her extra nervous.

"Felicity Porter," She said, trying to shake of the nerves. "So where are you from?"

"Here, born and raised…live and die in LA right?" Brooke joked, and Felicity just stared back at her, confused. "You know the song?"

"Um, no not really, sorry"

"Wow, love your shoes…very trendy, urban vibe!" Brooke exclaimed jumping subjects. "You're from out east, aren't you, hmm probably northeast…am I right?"

Brooke had taken a step back from Felicity, and now stood, arms crossed, holding her index finger to her lips, moving her head side to side, in thought. Felicity remained still, but there was no hiding that she was stunned by the girl's accuracy.

"Yea, Connecticut. How'd you know that?"

"It's just this thing I do. Clothes can tell you a lot about a person you know…"

"So, what do mine tell you? Besides where I'm from and all, I mean."

"Well, let me see," she said twirling Felicity in a circle. "Okay, uh you're wearing ripped jeans, and a loose button down which tells me you're sort of reserved, maybe sensitive, and relaxed, but… that nice watch you're wearing, that tells me you've probably, well your family most likely has money, you're more than likely responsible, and I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that you my dear might be trying to rebel a little, perhaps asserting your independence? I've got it… Daddy's A+ over achieving little girl moves away to walk the unbeaten path?"

Brooke paused slightly to see Felicity's reaction, to her assumptions. She hoped that the girl was not offended. "So, how'd I do?" She finally asked, after a whole minute of silence had past.

"That was uh, amazing…" Felicity gasped. "I'm speechless, and that rarely happens to me, but you were dead on. I was sorta supposed to follow in my dad's footsteps, you know and be in med school right now, but I had this last minute change of heart…and well, here I am! I guess this might all be a colossal mistake, as my dad would say, but on the other hand it may...maybe it'll save my life or something."

"Wow, I knew I was good, but not that good. I'm getting better at this! I guess I should welcome you to California, and lovely LA, you won't miss a thing being my roommate, perky brunette shrieked. "I've got some pretty decent connections, so you've got nothing to worry about."

Brooke then gave her once last smile and then returned to tending the closet on her side. Felicity shot her a polite smile, and thank you, before focusing on the task at hand. She wanted to tell Brooke not to worry about including her in everything, that really she worried more that she would be imposing and out of place, but she couldn't spoil her new friends excitement, just yet. A couple hours later, after setting up her side the best she could, Felicity excused herself to go meet up with Lucas at the University Center, as planned.

…

Lucas had already been sitting and waiting for Felicity outside the steps of the University Center almost an hour. Granted he had gotten there early to relax, and read in the sun, but now he began to wonder if she was really going to show. He imagined that with all the bustle of moving in, she may have forgotten. He continued to wait, until the sound of a bird chirping near by pulled him out of his book. There she was, half running towards him, awkward as can be, yet graceful at the same time.

"Hey, sorry," she said breathlessly. "I got caught up talking to my new roommate."

"No problem." He assured her.

The two then walked up the steps, and made their way into the large auditorium like complex. When they made it inside, they were met with another huge crowd of freshmen students, all standing in yet, another line. It seemed as though that was what USC was all about; beautiful weather, and long lines to keep you from enjoy it. Finding spots at the end, Luke and Felicity relaxed and resumed conversation.

"So how do you like your new roommate?" He asked her. "Mine is still missing in action."

"Huh, that is weird." She thought out loud. "Mine, she seems nice enough, really cheery, she seems super friendly, and well, she's very pretty, too pretty, actually…it's not even fair. She has this ridiculous perfectly clear, almost satin like, skin. Oh and she's into clothes."

"Really, well most girls are. But, you're not too shabby yourself, so don't sell yourself short." He complimented her, placing his hand on her head and patting it.

"Are you sure my hair isn't a disaster? Please be honest, because I mean, I'm gonna have to live with this I.D. for the next four years, and that is like an eternity in picture time."

Just then, Felicity heard someone calling at her, and the two turned to meet the voice.

"Hey," said a shocked Ben. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi!" She replied, trying not to look obvious. "I'm, uh…I'm going to school here. I completely forgot you were going here."

"This is so crazy," Ben exclaimed, pointing to Felicity, and kissing the girl standing next to him. "I know this girl from high school, can you believe that? He explained to his girlfriend, then turning his attention back toward Felicity. "Anyways, this is Peyton, and this is, uh…this is, uh…"

"Felicity," chimed in Lucas.

"Felicity, yea." Ben said, looking now in Lucas's direction. "Is this your boyfriend?"

"Uh, no…we're just…friends." She replied, embarrassed.

"It's Lucas, Lucas Scott," he said, holding out his hand, and looking in Peyton's direction.

_Was she going to pretend I didn't exist, like she didn't even recognize me?_ He thought.

"No way, man. I think you're my roommate. My name's Ben Covington. Small world, huh?"

"Yea, you don't even know." Lucas replied, nearly rolling his eyes at the situation that was unfolding.

"Wow, all right, so, I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other, then."

"Uh huh," Lucas and Felicity said in unison.

"Okay, see ya around."

…_**You'd be so perfect with me but you just can't see,**_

_**You turn every head but you don't see me…**_

With that Ben grabbed his flaxen haired girlfriend's waist, and began leading her away. Peyton took one last confused look at Lucas, over her shoulder, and returned her attention to Ben as they laughed and disappeared into the courtyard. Lucas and Felicity had then reached the front of the line. Felicity was too concerned with the fact that Ben had forgotten her name to pay much attention to how the picture would turn out anymore. After having their photographs taken, and I.D.'s processed the two walked outside.

"That… that wasn't the Peyton, was it?" Felicity finally regained enough composure to ask, pausing to add, "she acted like she didn't even know you…I mean I guess I shouldn't talk Ben didn't even remember my name."

"Yep, that's her…and Ben, huh…for a roommate? Wow…well, don't I feel like an ass now." Lucas joked. "I'm actually starting to wonder if Ashton is around the corner somewhere, and we are just getting punked, or something…"

"I know, this is so unbelievable, my Ben and your Peyton together, like dating? How ironic."

"And miserable…" He added.

"Yea, that too." She agreed.

By then they had reached the fountain that separated their two residence halls. They took a seat on the edge.

"So, there's this party that my roommate was talking about going to…it's supposed to be fun. Would you want to meet us there?" Felicity asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Umm, sure. Yea, you know what, that sounds like a great idea…it'll help get our minds off the thing."

"Oh yea, the thing. Exactly. Well I'll text you then when I find out where its gonna be?"

"Sounds good," he said standing up, and walking away. "See ya later!"

….

Back in her room Felicity had been pacing around incoherently, while she talked to her parents on the phone. They had interrupted her getting ready for the party, and she was not entirely ready to have the conversation her father was hinting at. Just then Brooke stormed through the door, startling Felicity. She attempted to cover herself up with the phone, but realizing how silly that must have looked to Brooke, she quickly placed the phone back up to her ear and resumed what she had been saying.

"Ok, well, Dad -- all right. I'm sorry, but this isn't about whether Uncle Harvey feels I'm making a big mistake or not. What I should be doing with my life is my decision." She said, pausing for his response. "You know what? I have to go. I-I'm going to get off the phone, all right? Ok – you can hang up now, please. Thanks. Good-bye. Good-Night!"

Brooke was now starring at her with beady intrusive eyes.

"What was that all about, Princess?" Brooke asked, emphasizing the princess.

"Just my dad, being my dad. Apparently my decision to come here is now the family's main topic of conversation…"

"So why did you, come here I mean?"

"I can't believe I'm telling another person this." She sighed. "I guess you could kinda say I came here for a guy, just that the guy and I aren't really dating, or even friends, actually now that I think about it, I have never spoken more than 50 words in total to him, but…oh my gosh this is gonna sound crazy, it is crazy…"

"Spit it out!" Brooke shrieked.

"Okay, I followed this guy I had well sorta immoderate feelings for in high school, because of something he wrote in my yearbook."

Felicity then handed her the yearbook, opened to the page where Ben had left his mark. Brooke then read what Ben had wrote, popping her head up as so as she had finished.

"You came across the nation for this?" She cried, holding up and pointing to the message. "For some guy you had immoderate feelings for, what ever that means…"

"Well, okay maybe intense feelings, but it was a lot more than that."

"Umm, okay, well does this guy know that you're stalking him? I mean didn't he freak out when he found out?"

"That's the thing he doesn't really know all that yet."

"Oh, boy…this is going to get interesting."

The two girls then ended their conversation, in order to get ready for the night's party.

….

As Felicity and Brooke entered the party all the eyes in the room re-focused onto them. Felicity felt as though she might pass out from pure nerves. This was exactly what she feared. Being next to Brooke, she was sure to be noticed. It made her cringe. She cased the room for Lucas, yet in the process all she found was Ben and Peyton standing in a secluded corner. Her eyes immediately zoned in on them. She could clearly see that the two were playfully flirting. They were holding cups of beer in one hand and each other with the other. The image caused Felicity to whellup.

Brooke had by then taken full notice of the change in her roommate's demeanor. It was natural for the cheery brunette to look out for people, and jump into rescue mode. This was not an uncommon occurrence for her. She had picked up a lot of pieces from various friends in her time, and most of the times the situations were a lot more dramatic. So she was thankful for her new friends strength. In fact, for the most part, Felicity was rather composed, but Brooke could still tell with out a doubt, that something was bothering her roommate. It only took one look from a trained eye, like Brooke had, to deduct the reason, and source, from where she was looking, in Ben's direction.

"Are you okay? That's not yearbook boy over there your staring at, is it?" Brooke asked curiously, pointing in Ben's direction.

"What, uh no, well yea…that's him but I wasn't starring, and stop pointing!"

"Well he is defiantly fine, so I wouldn't blame ya if you were, but who's the broad?"

"Some girl he's dating…"

As they spoke, Ben had exited the room, leaving Peyton all alone. Both of the girls noticed, but Brooke was the only one to see it as a shining opportunity. She then grabbed Felicity's arm and dragged her closer to Peyton. Felicity desperately tried to resist.

"Come on!" Brooke insisted. "It's time to do some recon…don't you wanna know where she stands in the relationship?"

Before Felicity had a chance to answer, just as they were within speaking distance apart, Peyton took notice to Felicity, and waved.

"Hey, your Ben's friend right?" Peyton asked, as Brooke let out a quite laugh under her breath, at the girl's assumption. "How is everything going?"

"It's okay I guess but, being in Los Angeles, you know, it's a lot different from my hometown, and trying to get my course schedule all figured out. It's just a little overwhelming, I guess."

"God! It is nice to hear somebody else say that. And who's your sidekick?"

"It's Brooke…" The brunette sneered at Peyton's dismissal.

"It's difficult, right? Just figuring out the system." Felicity added, ignoring the mini-quarrel that had just gone down.

Brooke slowly walked off on her own, leaving just the two blondes to chat.

"You know, the only two classes that I wanted were filled, even by the time I got here, and I was here early for an internship." Peyton told her.

"Oh my gosh, me too. Well, I didn't get here early, but the filled classes I mean. What classes did you try to get into?"

"They were just some art classes, I don't know the names. But, figures…I didn't really need to take them anyway."

"That's funny, I tried to get into an art classes as well, but I'm sure the ones you were looking into were much more advanced"

"Why would you say that?"

"Oh well, I sorta…no reason." Felicity stammered, realizing that she had almost revealed too much.

The two girls stood chatting away about art, and other random topics for the next couple minutes. They were getting along quite well. Felicity was glad she had found someone, a girl, she could relate to so quickly. She wasn't glad it happened to be Ben's current flame though. That made it difficult.

Lucas then walked into the party, scanning the room for his friend. When he found her standing next to Peyton he nearly fainted. He had come to the party to get away from the topic of Peyton, but it just sort of followed him.

"Hey," He said to the both of them.

"Lucas, I thought you said you planned to stay in Tree Hill?" Peyton asked confused.

"Oh, so she does know who I am," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Earlier I thought you might not have had amnesia or something…"

"Don't mock me, I barely know you, and I wasn't trying to ignore you, I was just shocked to see you that's all, you caught me off guard."

With that Ben had returned, causing a nervous energy to form between the foursome.

"So, what's everyone talking about?" He butted in.

"Nothing…" The other three said in unison.

Ben then went back to hugging on Peyton, nudging and kissing her neck. Lucas was furious with the display. He could barely hold back his anger, but he for sure would not subject himself to this torture. He was beginning to question if his decision in coming to USC was wise.

On the other hand Felicity was mesmerized watching Ben, and how he acted with this girl. She began to wonder if maybe they could just be friends. After all, it was rather insane to actually think that Ben and her had a future. Plus, she did like Peyton, enough.

"I need a beer…" Lucas proclaimed in defeat, stalking off.

"I'll go with you!" Felicity shouted, following him out of the room.

….

Several drinks later, and a whole lot drunker, Lucas meandered through the crowd. He found a spot on one of the couches and sat down. Next to him sat a stunningly attractive young woman. She wore a short jean skirt, and a simple tank top. She was simply beautiful to Lucas, but still mysterious.

"Hey they hottie!" She said looking in his direction.

Her smooth yet raspy voice seemed to make her all the more appealing to him. It suited her very well. He was only drunk, though, he hadn't lost his mind. So he was confused and shy to the girl's come-ons.

_This girl couldn't have been calling me hottie, could she? _He thought, as she continued to look him dead in the eye.

"Who me?" He finally asked, pointing to himself. "Sorry, were you just talking to me then?"

"No, the leprechaun sitting on your shoulder," she teased. "Of course I was talking to you, why are you so grumpy, by the way? I'm Brooke."

Lucas sat up at her question. He didn't know if he should be telling a complete stranger about his problems, but her kind eyes told him that he could. He quickly explained the unique circumstances of his coming to USC, and the unfortunate turn of events that had just transpired, being that Peyton was happily dating his roommate.

Brooke held her composure throughout his entire play by play, but it was not easy. It was like she was experiencing some twilight zone soap opera. After he had finished with his story, the beautiful brunette flashed him a full smile, dimples included, and started to clear some things up.

"So, let me get this straight." She said, in her most authoritative voice. "You like this Peyton girl, who you stalked and followed here…She is dating Ben guy, who happens to be your roommate…then this new girl you meet here, Felicity, who by the way is coincidentally my roommate, I know this is just getting too weird…so, she tells you that she did the same creepy thing and followed Ben, who is her yearbook guy, and now all four of you are trying to be friends? Yea, I can see that's working out for you…"

"I know…if I was only hearing it for the first time I wouldn't believe it either…" He admitted to her.

"Talk about a small world," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "And since when did it become the thing to do to follow your high school crush across the country? What ever happened to the tried and true I dunno, say asking a girl out? I've never felt _this _out of the loop before…"

"Yea," he laughed. "You must not have gotten this month's issue of Stalker Times…"

He had now even succumbed to making fun of himself. Lucas then shifted his thoughts, and started to wonder if maybe he was a bit crazy to have built up this connection between he and Peyton. However, all of that internal debate only solidified his belief that Peyton Sawyer was the one for him.

…_**I'll put a spell on you,**_

_**You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you.**_

_**And when I wake you,**_

_**I'll be the first thing you see, lyric's top**_

_**And you'll realize that you love me…**_

"She's the one!" He finally proclaimed. "She just is…"

"Yes of course Peyton is "the one" for you," she said sarcastically. "Says the guy who barely knows her, about said girl who is on a date with another guy…what about…haven't you ever thought that maybe "the one" for you should want to be with you, and not some other guy?"

"Pascal once said, 'The heart has reasons which the reason cannot understand.' I can't explain it she just is. I know it."

"I don't know who this Pascal guy is, but he sounds like a weirdo. I mean… are you honestly telling me you believe there's only one person in this entire planet that's right for you?"

"I do."

"Well, all right then, lover boy…if you're so sure, follow me." She said, pulling him up off the couch, and out of the party.

Lucas followed her as they then made their way out of the building, and walked through the darkly lit alley just adjacent to it. Brooke had vehemently refused to tell him where they were going, revealing only that they were to find out if Peyton is really… "the one". She stopped walking, at a random basketball court, and ushered him toward a lone basketball, which had been lying under one of the hoops. The cheery girl bent down, still smiling ear-to-ear as sexy as can be; now gripping the ball between her hands.

"You know, I always said if I ever met the devil she'd be hot and holding a basketball…" Lucas joked, at the sight of seeing Brooke holding the ball.

"Very nice…but I'm not going to touch you, sissy virgin boy, just take off your shirt," she demanded. "I'm trying to make a point, okay…so off with it!"

"Okay, okay…" He said reluctantly, while taking off the blue t-shirt he had been wearing.

_Lucas is sweet,_ she thought. _Maybe a little bit too sweet…and very naïve, confused without a doubt, but sweet none the less, and cute actually. What a shame such a beautiful specimen of the male race is taken by delusions._

Brooke had to admit that the blue color on him suited him nicely. It was the perfect shade to bring out his eyes, and those crystal blue sparklers alone could light up a room with one glance. As he took off his shirt she added hot body to the list of his pending credentials, as well. She hoped she could help him sort out his feelings, even if that meant letting him down. She promised herself she would let him down easy, if that were the case.

"Now, hand me your shirt," she instructed, moving her way behind him to tie the shirt over his eyes.

She did this all as seductively as only she could, holding on to his shoulders, giving them a quick massage, before she jumped back in front of him.

"What's going on Brooke," he asked, confused.

"Okay so, you say Peyton's the one, your soul mate. Well, if that's the case, call upon destiny or providence or whatever forces are gonna bring you two together and make the shot. Blindfolded." She exclaimed, placing the ball into his hands.

…_**Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first,**_

_**Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes,**_

_**And I know, the waiting is all you can do, sometimes...**_

"This is ridiculous," he scoffed.

"Come on…this is your destiny were talking about. You can't miss!" She reminded him of his unwavering faith. "Can you see me?"

"Nope."

Lucas was now standing sheepishly; unaware of the goofy faces and dance moves Brooke was pulling out to test his honesty. When she was satisfied that he couldn't see, she smiled to herself and began again.

"Okay, I trust you…now follow my voice, if Peyton's the one…make the shot!"

Lucas then squared up to where her voice was coming from, aligning himself into perfect form, releasing the ball with confidence. Meanwhile, Brooke had stripped down to only her underwear, and was waiting patiently to catch the ball. In a split second she was holding the ball in her hands, using it as partial coverage.

"What happened," he finally asked, hopefully, as he started to take off the blindfold.

"It didn't go in…I'm sorry." She said honestly, after seeing his disappointed reaction, and checked the ball back in his direction. "But, I'll make you a deal…you make it, you take it."

Lucas only then realizes that Brooke was implying that he could take her, naked, and let out a nervous laugh. He walked over to the dimpled girl, using his shirt to shield her, now exposed body. When he reached her he draped his shirt over her shoulders to cover her up, gazing into her eyes.

"You are the devil, aren't you?" He teased playfully. "Good thing, I can handle temptation. Now, go put your clothes on" He added softly, giving her a crooked smile.

"You are unbelievable! You're gonna give me a complex…"

"You know you don't have to act this way…"

"I know that. But you're the first guy to ever actually say it." She replied in shock. "But, uh, you do your thing and um try to resist. It's actually kinda cute."

"Game on, Brooke." He whispered lightheartedly in her ear. "Come on, let me walk you to your car."

The two strolled back towards the party, passing up a few students puking over the sidewalk. They both looked at each other and busted out laughing. When they had reached Brooke's car, Lucas looked inside only to see piles of clothes and numerous empty wrappers strewn about the front and back seat. He was reminded so, of something Keith had once told him, and it brought a smile to his face.

"Messy much?" He asked, with a huge grin. "My dad always said it was a rule of life: the prettier the girl, the messier the car…"

"It's a real turn off, huh?" She asked, shyly.

"That's exactly what he said, oddly enough. But, I actually kinda think it's cute…" He confessed, holding the door open to her front seat, and helping her in.

"Well, good luck with Peyton. You seem like a really great guy Lucas, you know that? The way I see it, if she doesn't want that…then it's her loss."

"Thanks, Brooke." He said with a genuine smile. "I'll be seeing ya around then?"

"Yea, sure…" She said as her hazel green eyes sparkled at him. "Hey and if you see Felicity, could you tell her I called it a night?"

"Of course. Anything."

"Okay, Bye!" And with that she was gone.

_Weird,_ he thought, chuckling to himself. _What a night! This one would definitely impress Haley…maybe even Nathan._

…

Inside the party Felicity had found her way back to the keg one time to many. She was feeling braver than usual, but sicker as well. Just as she was headed out the door she ran into Ben, who was standing in the hallway.

"So what's going on?" He asked her, stopping her from going any further.

"Um....not much, but uh, I gotta tell you something, okay?" She replied half stumbling.

"Are you drunk?" He chuckled.

"Maybe?"

"You're defiantly drunk." He affirmed holding up her chin and looking into her eyes. "So what is it that you need to tell me?"

"Oh yea, I almost forgot," she laughed nervously, biting her lip. "Um…I just want to preface this by saying, that, uh, I don't want you to feel weird about anything I am about to say. At all.

"Okay." He replied smiling slightly.

"Uh...the thing is...I came to Los Angles...um...mostly because of you…"

She then looked up to gage his reaction. _Oh my god, did I just really say that to him, oh my god, he's going to think I'm a huge stalker just like Brooke said, ugh I think I'm gonna puke! _She thought, but continued still, when he didn't appear to be too offended.

"Yeah, I had these, sort of, um…intense feelings for you back in high school, and, uh, even though I know that we never really talked before graduation day, except maybe that one time when I, uh, was passing out flyers for the blood drive…yea…"

Ben just nodded his head, surprised, indicating he hadn't the slightest clue where she was going with this. Felicity knew that she had better get this over with quick, because she was certain that today's dinner was about to come up.

"Anyways, maybe it was the fact that we never did talk, you know for why I had those feelings. Because now, of course, I realize, that it was a crazy thing to do to follow someone I don't know 3,000 miles. And I sort of panicked about it, but I just wanted you to know that I'm past that. And I'm -- I'm totally ok with it now. I mean it, you know, because it's really not about you so much anymore. I'm here now, you know...uh...because...I'm here."

Ben couldn't help but laugh at the poor girl, who was clearly out of her wits drunk. She herself even tried to hold back her nervous stomach with a quiet giggle. Unfortunately, it was too late for that, because it was coming up…right then. Felicity tried to dodge hitting him with her vomit but the reflex was just too quick. It overpowered her. Afterwards, he just looked at her stunned.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She cried, now attempting to wipe off the vomit with her bare hand.

"Don't do that." He blurted out when he saw her trying to hand clean his shoe. "Stop, that's disgusting."

Felicity by then had tears streaming down her cheeks. His words had stung her, and he only stood motionless. But, there was something about this girl, crazy and odd as she may seem, that intrigued Ben. Her tears broke his heart. To him, she was like this feeble and misguided person just trying to make it, to navigate through life's mysteries, and he couldn't help but feel like he understood that…after all, he had once been just like her, maybe still was deep down. So he instinctively swooped down by her side to help her.

"Here," He said, holding out his hand. "Let me help you, up. You should probably go back to your room, and clean yourself up. Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No, no…I'm fine, really." She assured him, once she was standing. "I just, so, uh, I need to know what you are thinking, about what I told you? And, if at all possible, try to ignore, the finale?"

She smiled nervously at him, as he took a deep breath remembering only moments ago, her confession, and he attempted to answer.

"I'm -- honestly? Honestly? I'm just -- I'm just -- flattered...." He stammered out.

"Good."

"Yea, I'm flattered. By the whole thing, well minus the part when you puked on me, but I'm flattered. I am." He reassured her, and himself.

"Good. That's really a perfect, perfect answer. Ok, so, uh...can we just be friends?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Great…"

"Of course. Yeah…just next time we hang out, not so much alcohol for you."

"Okay…deal." She promised, walking away.

…

After taking a shower, Felicity sat in her room, staring up and the ceiling, tape recording a message to her friend.

"Have you ever wondered which hurts the most: saying something and wishing that you had not, or saying nothing, and wishing that you had? I can't decide…but I told Ben anyways, yea I told him everything… about, you know following him, and then well, I had been drinking this punch and I sort of, okay I literally… I actually threw up on him, on Ben Covington…can you believe that, it was so awful, so embarrassing, I almost died…but he said he was flattered by it all, well not the vomit, you know…so I guess it wasn't all bad. I dunno? What do you think?"

"Oh, I almost forgot… I came across this poem by Momei Qu that goes:

'_Did you ever fall for someone you know you shouldn't?_

_Try hard to fight your feelings, but you just couldn't?_

_You fall deeper with each passing day,_

_But try to hide it in every possible way._

_He's only a friend, and nothing else--_

_That's the lie you keeping telling yourself._

_You keep on saying he's just a bud,_

_But deep inside, you're falling in love._

_You get so giddy when you meet his eyes,_

_But keep reminding yourself it isn't right._

_A simple glance turns into a stare,_

_But you pretend that you don't care._

_It's "not right" for you two to be._

_Is that why you hide it so no one can see?_

_But how long will you pretend?_

_Keep lying that he's just a friend?_

_Perhaps your feelings you can never show._

_Perhaps it's "wrong" for him to know._

_Your friendship can't be risked over this,_

_So being his girl is an impossible wish...'"_

"Have you ever heard of it? I bring it up because I told Ben today that we should just be friends. Well, that I wanted to be just friends. But, can I really be just friends with him? He's kinda good at calming me down, sort of, not really, but I mean he's just got this way…of being nice to me, it's weird, like he doesn't need to be you know, so anything is a start, right? And the butterflies…like something out of a fairytale or something! I'm just giddy when I am around him…" She paused for a moment, taking it all in.

"I guess I am answering my question aren't I? Man, I'm gonna have to work hard at not liking him as more than a friend. Oh by the way, I met this other guy and get this he followed this girl, just like I did. Ironic right? It gets better…she's dating Ben. I know. This is all so crazy. It's all happening so fast…I wish you were here! But, I should get to bed now. I'm sitting in the bathroom. I know I made a complete fool out of myself earlier; my roommate probably wants to rip my eyes out! It's almost 2:00 in the morning here and I'm still up! Okay, night Rachel! Actually, morning!" She trailed off giggling to herself.

* * *

******Lyrics used for this chapter are from Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You), by Aqualung******


	4. To Die In LA

**Unfinished Symphony**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **These characters belong to Mark Schwahn, J.J. Abrams and the CW, I own none of them. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note: **Again, the updates won't be as frequent as I would like them to be but if I start to get more readers I will make an effort to get this out! I also want to clear up the fact that this is a crossover story. I had it in that section before but there just aren't enough Felicity fans out there anymore. Plus the majority of the main characters are from OTH so I figured the right place for this story was here. This is sort of an AU, OTH college years, Felicity style. I'll have a ton of couples, but my main loves Brucas and FAB will always shine through. Let me know what you think! Hugs!

* * *

**To Die In LA**

…_**We see, bright lights, **_

_**Another day, I'm waking up,**_

_**Into the street, stay on beat, **_

_**Here it comes, believe…**_

Felicity had just woken up to find her place in a complete disaster. She scratched her head relentlessly, searching the unfamiliar and fuzzy spaces of her mind for any plausible explanation for this catastrophe. Unbeknownst to her, the room's new arrangement was actually compliments of a well-deserved night of heavy boozing, by hers truly. Yep, last night Tornado Felicity had swept through the room, as she drunkenly attempted to maneuver through the dark. Not remembering actions, such as these, was to be expected. Alcohol does that to you. Though, Felicity wouldn't have had the slightest idea of what to expect in this situation considering she had been a complete virgin to the party lifestyle before yesterday.

At the time, last night, she had had the best of intentions. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up her roommate, but the pixie-like freshman girl had been far from successful. That was expected from a novice drinker, like herself. Unfortunately Felicity was about to experience her first, fateful morning after, aka the ultimate hangover.

_Ugh! My head_, Felicity thought, as she sat up. The room began to spin uncontrollably and her body ached all over. The worst part for her: she could only remember certain portions of the night. _What was I thinking drinking like that? I never do that…it was crazy! Oh, ugh… I can't believe I threw up on Ben. I'm never getting out of bed today; in fact, I'm never drinking again, ever!_

From the other side of the room, while Felicity had been passed out, her roommate had been up for several hours trying to keep herself busy. In that time, Brooke had successfully taken a jog, showered and secured a job as the fashion consultant at a local clothing boutique. When she first got back to the room Felicity had still been in bed, so she had decided to browse the Internet using only a dim desk lamp for light. Brooke figured the least she could do was try not to wake the poor girl up. After all, hearing Felicity stumbling into the door multiple times and then aimlessly through the room until she settled by the bathroom puking, Brooke was certain her new friend would be in excruciating pain that day. So, like the good friend she was, the cheery brunette had tried her best to let the girl sleep off the inevitable agony. Deep down, though, the anticipation was killing her. She couldn't help but want to know the juicy news of what had happened prior to the room debacle.

So, when her roommate's sheets had finally started to rustle around, signaling her pending wake up, Brooke immediately sat forward in attention. The obviously confused Felicity slowly sat up, looking deeply concerned in those first few minutes of waking. Viciously studying the girl for clues, Brooke was worried by her initial reactions. Though, her final conclusion had been that Felicity was experiencing a bit of a blackout, something the reformed party girl knew the symptoms of all too well. She just hoped that Felicity would remember the good stuff!

"Hey," Felicity said, groggily, as she sat up in her bed and stretched.

"Morning, sleepy head…you were out cold, it's almost 3 o' clock in the afternoon! I was starting to get worried about you. I heard you come in last night, it sounded a bit, well how can I put this…rough, yes rough."

Brooke then described the crashes and booms she heard coming from Felicity's side of the room, at her roommate's request, hoping it would signal some train of thought. By the looks on the poor girls face, she didn't remember much of the bedroom scene. Yet, Brooke kept her fingers crossed that she would remember more of what had happened before she reached the room.

"So, give me the deets, crazy lady!" Brooke shrieked, after Felicity didn't overtly hand over the events of last night.

"Deets?" Felicity asked, squinting her eyes out of confusion.

"The details, duh…deets, short for details, come on you're killing me here, what happened? I knew I should have stuck around!"

"Oh, um details, well rough…yes that is a perfect word. I made way too many trips to the beer machine!

"Keg. It's called a keg, but go on."

"Well first let me add another word for the night, okay two…never again!" The curly haired girl proclaimed, holding her head in anguish again.

"Yea, I've heard that before…" Brooke laughed, seemingly unconvinced of her new friend's statement. "Well, did you at least have a good time?"

"I guess? Though, the end of the night is rather questionable…"

"Questionable? Ooo…tell tell, please tell! What happened?"

"Well, I told Ben that I followed him," She started, holding back a bit after noticing the nervous look on Brooke's face. "Yea I know…I was drunk, but it, it gets worse…then I sorta threw up on him…"

"Wow, definitely eventful then. Can't say I expected that. So how did yearbook boy take the news? And uh, how did you sorta throw up on him? It's either all or nothing, trust me…I've been there."

"Well, he took it all very well, considering. He said he was flattered? And yea I didn't sorta throw up on him, I did…all over his pants and shoes. That part was horrible…"

Felicity then receded back into her bed, embarrassed and ashamed of her actions the previous night. Brooke instantly realized Felicity was upset, and continued to assess the situation in the most positive light possible, for her roommates sake.

"Really, interesting…flattered." Brooke pondered over Ben's choice of words for a moment. "Hmm? Maybe I'll try that method," she joked, which got Felicity's attention. "So what did he do when you threw up on him? Did he freak out; get pissed?"

Felicity sat back up in the bed and this time she became more involved in the conversation. Brooke had scooted her computer chair over to the side of the girl's bed so she wouldn't have to explain the horrid details any louder.

"No? He didn't freak out at all… no, actually he was a perfect gentleman; he helped me up after…I was trying to clean his shoes with my hand I was so upset…" Felicity mumbled the last part, as she looked to Brooke for comfort.

"Eww, disgusting!" Brooke shrieked at the thought, which obviously hadn't offered the comfort Felicity had desired.

"Yea, he thought so too…" The defeated girl admitted, slumping over. "But he still offered to walk me back here?" She added, now trying to comfort herself.

"Seriously? That is impressive…you must have a way with men or something, because in my experience men don't take kindly to being vomited on…so if he stuck around, I'd say he likes you."

"What? No, he was just being nice…"

"Yea, tending to stalkers who vomit on you goes beyond the call of duty of 'being nice.' He either felt sorry for you…or he likes you." Brooke concluded.

"Well, we decided to be _just friends_, anyways. And, I actually like his girlfriend, what's her name?"

"Peyton Sawyer, yadie da. Ugh gawd, if I hear anymore about that girl I'll probably vomit myself." Brooke confessed, rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed by this reminder.

"You didn't even talk to her, did you?" Felicity asked, confused by Brooke's disposition.

"Oh I heard enough about her from lover boy, Lucas. Oh yea, I forgot to mention I met him at the party last night. Yea, he's a piece of work…kinda like you!" She teased. "For real though I just don't get it? I mean you talk about Ben and he talks about Peyton, and it's like you guys are so certain that they're worth it…that of the billions of us out there in this world there's only _one_ that's right for you? I mean it just sorta, well it makes me kinda sad…there, I said it…now shoot me!"

Felicity starred at her visibly embarrassed roommate. She hadn't expected that last comment of hers. She had prepared mentally for those who might think she was insane, the ones who questioned her motives even, but she had never thought her actions would make anyone upset. She didn't understand how she or Lucas's feelings could possibly make somebody sad. To Felicity it was endearing and poetic, as if she had been granted this chance to live out her very own fairytale. She didn't understand Brooke's feelings, but she would never hold them against her, or dismiss them, either. It was not in her nature to let feelings go unanalyzed.

"Oh, no! Don't feel bad…for feeling bad. I just, I don't get why it would bother you?"

"Well, I'm not gonna be up all night crying about it but, you see…how do I explain this?" Brooke began, searching for the right way to put it. "Okay, Lucas is this great guy, right? And you, well you are this smart, caring, beautiful person. Yet, you both are pinning over these two people that are totally oblivious. And I get it, I do…it's all mysterious and intriguing and exciting even…but what happens to the ones out there that want to experience falling in love? Like me…

Felicity sat listening, intrigued by her roommates conviction. It all started to make sense to her and she for the first time questioned her fairytale. She didn't dare interrupt, though, and only nodded, insisting Brooke go further.

"I want to fall in love with _someone_, not just the idea of what they are or could be, you know? I want to be able to look back and say 'that was the moment when it all changed'…and after that no matter what he'd be in my heart, along side me, every step of the way…good, bad, ugly, it wouldn't matter because we'd have each other, we'd be together." Brooke sighed, at the thought of her impossible fairytale dream, pausing to look at her fully concentrated roommate. "See, that's the love story I want, and I know it's not gonna be a fairytale but now I just feel like the good guys, well their always off pinning for girls that won't give them the time of day…and then girls like us, who want real love, well we're left to pine over guys that won't give us the time of day. So, I just want you to be careful okay? Because, if you aren't a Peyton in life's twisted scenario, which maybe you are, I dunno…I just know _I'm _not…" The fair skinned brunette admitted solemnly, taking a breath to continue, now looking straight at Felicity. "I really, truly hope you are, because you know what happens in the end to us non-Peyton's? We get hurt…"

Felicity sat stunned taking it all in. Her roommate had just opened up to her and from the sounds of it just might be as vulnerable as she. Underneath that rough and tough exterior, Brooke Davis was a helpless romantic just like Felicity Porter. Underneath it all was someone broken, and that was someone Felicity could understand.

Brooke, however, was less accepting of this vulnerability in herself. Having realized all that had just been said, she feared how defenseless it all must have seemed and quickly turned on her B. Davis charm, forcing out a fake, shiny, bright smile.

"I get it, and that makes perfect sense, it really does. That's why we're just going to be friends, me and Ben." Felicity explained, unconvincingly. "I'm just a hopeless romantic, I guess."

"Ha, me too! Did you hear the sap that just came out of my mouth?" Brooke rolled her eyes in disbelief, trying to lighten the mood. "Hey, he did let you vomit on him, that's gotta count for something." She grinned. "And you know what…that could be a pretty nice story to tell the kids, right?

At the thought of explaining Ben and Felicity's fairytale love story to their hypothetical children the two roommates fell to the ground, laughing hysterically, almost crying they were laughing so hard.

…_**So I get high to lift myself, remembering,**_

_**I'm running late, I'm running late, here it comes**_

_**And you don't know how you got there**_

_**You don't know why you got there…**_

"Oh, shit!" Brooke yelled. "I'm gonna be late…I met this guy, Noel, during registration, he's an RA in one of the guys dorms…anyways, he asked me out, and I was supposed to meet him at Perreno's for pizza. I've got like twenty minutes to get all the way across town, damn!"

Brooke then scurried around the room to get her things together and ran out, leaving Felicity to re-think her roommates concerns regarding her feelings towards Ben.

_Maybe Brooke is right?_ She thought. _I mean I probably will just end up hurt. I know we decided to be just friends, but maybe I should start opening up my options, you know, date other people…not worry so much about what Ben might think? It couldn't hurt, right?_

With that last thought, she heard a knock at her door.

"Brooke? Felicity? Can I come in?" Said the voice outside.

"Uh, sure…it's open." Felicity told him.

"Hey," the man spoke, holding his hand out to greet her. "My name's Dan Cohen, I'm an RA on this floor, and just thought I'd stop by and say hello, so hello…" The young man nervously explained.

"Hey, I'm Felicity…that is really nice of you, trying to get to know all of us."

"Uh, yea well…you know, I try." He said nonchalantly, dusting his shoulders off, trying his best to look at ease in the current situation. "I'm just kidding, I'm a total geek, read comic books and proud of it!" He beamed, showing off two distinct dimples. "Anyways, for real if you need anything, I'm in room 305…doors always open!"

"Sure, thanks!"

The curly brown haired RA then turned around and left, hitting his arm on the way out. Felicity could see that he was clearly holding back a whimper, clutching his wrist close to his chest. He managed to smile back at her, nonetheless.

Felicity sat puzzled. This Dan Cohen character reminded her quite a bit of herself; trying to hide behind nervous chatter and long wordy explanations. She hoped that they would be good friends in the future. In fact, she was certain that they could and she would make it happen.

…

At the pizza place Brooke had just gotten to the table where Noel was sitting. He had chosen a bar spot towards the corner. She assumed he had done so, because it would appear less intimate and assuming. Desperately trying to fix her wet, wind blown hair, she approached him. It had been pouring outside when she had left, and from being in such a rush, she had stupidly forgotten her umbrella behind.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late." She said to him, still combing through her hair.

"No problem, I'm just glad you actually came!" He replied, sincerely.

"Oh, of course! Miss a chance to eat at Perreno's, with a nice looking fella like yourself? Never!" She joked, taking a seat, as they both were now laughing.

Brooke spent the next few minutes pretending to study the menu, which unbeknownst to him, she knew by heart. Her real attention was on Noel, who she was actually just now taking notice of. To her Noel seemed very nice, almost too nice. The kind of nice that could get you in trouble because you think they can't hurt you, but they still do. Yet, as she looked in his eyes, her instincts told her otherwise, they screamed compassionate. His eyes were a milk chocolate shade of brown, but they had tiny specks of yellowish gold, which made them almost sparkle.

She was starting to fear that he was the worst kind of nice, the kind that she would end up hurting in the end. Forcing herself to push that thought out of her mind, she continued her appraisal and turned her focus on a more pleasant subject, his body. He wasn't necessarily pale, or tan, just sort of in the middle. He was tall, maybe 6' 2", and built with broad shoulders and a strong jaw line that made you feel he could protect. Though even with his size and stern appearance he wasn't imposing at all. Overall, Noel seemed to be very good looking. He wasn't Armani model stunning but he was genuinely attractive; he was your typical all American guy.

One thing the fashonista in her would have wanted to fix if she could was his outfit, if you'd even call it that. He looked to her like he'd stepped right out of a catalog for Eddie Bauer, circa 1999. Brooke wasn't so much against the whole Eddie Bauer thing, in fact she loved a rustic man, but this was just all wrong. The pants he wore were too short on him. She had noticed this when she bent down to grab her phone from her purse. And, his shirt too was awkwardly buttoned, maybe too high. It made him appear stiff. But, worst of all was the fabric design, which on all accounts was awful. It resembled what she would have described as attire more for a mob hit man on vacation than the young bachelor he was.

_All in all_, she thought. _If the worst thing about him is bad fashion sense, well then I guess I'm his kinda girl! Hopefully, he'll at least have an interesting personality to go with his niceness. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's a boring man!_

"So, is there anything you want?" He asked her, pulling her out of her admiration.

"Oh, toasted ravioli, please." She said back to him, and then to the server she had only recently realized had been standing there. "There the best in town!" She whispered to him secretly.

The two also ordered a veggie pizza, to share, and returned to getting to know one another. They exchanged small talk, mostly about where they were from, why they had chosen to come to LA, etc. He informed her that he had come to LA, from New York City, two years ago to pursue computer programming and to get a much-needed change of scenery. He also told her about his family; coming from a large Irish family, with six older sisters. His mother, he had explained, was a stay and home mom and his father had been in and out of the service most of his childhood. Noel's family was nothing like Brooke's and while she felt that it might be a good thing she was still hesitant to fully divulge her family secrets, just yet.

Unfortunately, by the end of the night, things hadn't really evolved much from their initial meeting. There were still no huge turn offs, other than his outfit, but nothing really spectacular either. For Brooke, if she decided to continue seeing him, she would in essence be settling. Though at the same time she had promised herself, after talking with Lucas, that she would change her ways. Noel seemed like a guy who would respect her. So, as he walked her to her car, she began to wonder.

_Maybe the spark doesn't always come immediately?_ She thought. _Maybe, he'll grow on me and we'll live happily ever after? I shouldn't rule him out after only one date; he's so kind and generous. And, he's not pinning over anyone that I can tell, at least. So that's a major plus for him! Yes, I'll give him a chance. Maybe he's a great kisser…up nope; there it was the big good night kiss and nothing. Damn… _

"Okay, well I had a great time, we should do this again sometime." He said, while helping her into the car.

"Umm, yea…definitely." She said, forcing a smile.

_This is how it's gonna be from now on_, she thought, driving back to the dorms. _Boring, spark-less, dates! Maybe I should reconsider. I mean, at least before I got a little action? So what if I slept around, there was definitely a spark down there! Ugh, men are despicable._

She continued driving, lost in her thoughts, until reaching the parking lot of the residence halls. When she got to her room she was pleased to find it empty. One thing was for sure; Brooke had to get her beauty sleep before classes started on Monday.

…

Finally, the first day of classes had arrived. For Felicity this was exciting, her specialty in life was and always had been school. The young scholar had been a bit of a geek, you could say, but the classroom was where she had always felt the most comfortable. The classroom and the art studio were the only places she felt like she could truly be herself and that was a powerful feeling.

For Brooke, it had always been the opposite. The thought of beginning all new classes frightened her because it only brought that many more opportunities to fail. Ever since she could remember her mother had drilled it into her that she would never be smart enough. As a result, the happy go lucky brunette was anything but when it came to academics. While in actuality, Brooke was fairly intelligent, she had learned to feign ignorance in spite of it, to spare herself from her mother's dismissal. Unfortunately, after years of hearing her mother's constant antics repeatedly being reminded of her uselessness, Brooke had become on edge. The fact that she was here, at USC, as opposed to a community college her mother, Victoria, believed she belonged was a feat. She was now, more then ever, doubtful of her true abilities and fearful of the embarrassment that came along with no being good enough.

That morning the two roommates quickly got themselves ready for the day, said their brief goodbyes, and went off their separate ways, each to their own first class of the day.

…

After trucking across the entire campus, Felicity finally found and entered her Biology classroom. She took the first available seat she saw, a spot in the back. While normally she would have been upset that she had to be so far in back today she immediately had something else to be concerned with. Sitting toward the front, on the right side, only a few desks ahead was Ben.

_How appropriate_, she thought. _Of all the classes he's here! Being his perfect, handsome, charming self. And I'm supposed to be okay with being just his friend? Impossible…_

Breaking her from her thoughts was the realization of the grandness of the room she was in. The classroom seemed gigantic to her standards, much bigger than the ones she had been used to back home. This lab, she had counted, was large enough to fit at least 30 large desks, of which each had room to fit two students. After calculating that more than 60 students would be in this class, Felicity started to understand the excessively long lines that she had waited in all last week. More importantly, though, she began to calm herself down figuring the class was large enough that she and Ben would only have minimal contact.

By the time the professor made his way in nearly all the seats had been occupied. Having taken a spot in the back, surprisingly the seat next to her's was still one of the few left open. However, just as the class was about to begin someone quickly moved in, assuming the spot next to her.

"Hey, so glad you're in this class!" Peyton said, after noticing whom she had sat next to. "This is going to be hell, I know right?"

"Um, actually…I love Biology?" Felicity responded embarrassed.

Peyton just laughed and gave her an "I should have known" look. Felicity nervously laughed along with her, trying to distance herself, so that she could listen more carefully to the professor, who had just introduced himself. The two blondes sat quietly through the professor's brief introduction and syllabus review. When he dismissed them thirty minutes later it seemed only Felicity was astonished. She sat frozen for a minute, not fully believing that it was really over.

_Is he seriously letting us go like that?_ She thought. _This class is supposed to be over two hours long? That was like…not even thirty minutes. Is it like a trick or something?_

"Hey, you wanna grab lunch with us?" Peyton asked once more, poking Felicity's shoulder to release the confused girl from her delirium.

"Actually, babe…I've gotta run so..." Ben explained, giving his girl a kiss, as he left.

"So, you wanna grab lunch, just you and me?" Peyton finally ventured to say again, this time getting through to her.

"Um, sure? Sorry, I can't believe he let us out so soon." Felicity explained.

"Are you for real? It's the first class, you know, syllabus day. If he had gone any farther he would have been met with angry mobs of students. Maybe even a tomato or two thrown at him."

Felicity just laughed along with Peyton. She was truly unaware of this "syllabus day," but she also figured she shouldn't push her luck by asking so many questions. Instead she made a mental note to ask Brooke or Lucas about what she had meant by it.

"Well, where do you wanna go? I've got this Freshman Studies class in an hour, so I can't go too far."

"Oh, yea me too, that class is gonna be cake…don't worry, why don't we just go to one of the cafeterias on campus?"

"Cake?"

"Cake, as in it will be as easy as eating cake? You've never heard that before?" Noticing the blank stare on Felicity's face Peyton got her answer. "Gosh, I'm starting to wonder if you are even human…" Peyton teased her, turning and squinting to look around. "Just follow me."

…

As Brooke made it into the building where her first class of the day, English Composition, was to be held, panic instinctively fell over her. In an effort to offset her pending nervous breakdown she decided to take a seat outside the classroom. Brooke clearly hadn't fully worked up the nerve to walk inside and face the magic that was looming within. Unfortunately, while sitting, she only imagined the worst, her nightmare of being called upon and not knowing the answer. She put her hands over her head and silently begged that the gods would go easy on her this morning. Being as nervous as she was, it took nearly everything inside of her to make a move. When she eventually did, gaining the needed momentum to literally throw her body into the classroom, she stood up forcefully. In doing so she ended up accidentally hitting the guy who had been walking by her.

"Oh, shit…sorry!" She said, trying to quickly pick up the mess of things that had fallen everywhere, due to the blast.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked. "Is that you? I didn't realize you were a clumsy one?" He started to tease, but stopped after noticing the look in her eyes. "Hey, my best friend in high school was the queen of clumsiness, not that you are, you just reminded me of her for a minute, that's all. Anyways…what's up, why do you have that horrid look on your face? It's not like you're going into battle or something…"

"Uh, well…I'm not really clumsy, so much, just incredibly nervous right now. I don't know why I'm telling you this, but perhaps the fact that you openly discussed your stalkerness with me makes me feel I can, I dunno, but I basically… well I suck at school. All of it, and I'm not an idiot, it's just not easy for me, ya know. My mother's been on my case about it all my life and I've been sitting here imagining all the awful ways I could possibly be humiliated if I go inside. I just don't know if I am cut out for college, maybe my mom was right?"

"Whoa, slow down, take a deep breath and relax. You see, I'm about to go inside that very same classroom and if you trust me, I'll get you through it. Now, I can't promise that with any of your other classes but I'll be glad to help you out anyway I can?"

"You are too nice Lucas, really, I can figure it out…"

"Listen, I'm not saying you need me. I bet you know more than you think about this stuff. I mean, you got here didn't you? I think that means you _are_ cut out for college. But, it's up to you to decide if that's what you want…not me and _definitely_ not your mother. So, if you do, just know I'm here…plain and simple." He reassured her, then wrapped her tightly by the waist, with one arm, and brought her with him into the classroom.

Brooke didn't object. There was something about his presence that calmed her. It wasn't until they had taken a seat that she had even noticed being inside. With him sitting next to her she felt as though she could handle it.

"Thanks," she whispered toward him.

"Anytime." He said, giving her a bright smile and a quick wink.

After the class had ended Brooke turned toward her new confidant. She had been so worked up about this class all weekend long, but it hadn't turned out to be that bad. After all, the class did allow her an excellent opportunity to get to know Lucas. Not to mention, with him there, nothing seemed to be as daunting as she had once thought. She might even end up liking the course, as he predicted.

"So, can I take my knight in shining armor out to lunch, as thanks?" She asked him, perking up for the first time that morning.

"Now that's the Brooke I remember…sure, why not? What time is your next class?"

"Uh, hold up…" She instructed him, digging inside her purse for the schedule she printed. "Ah, yes…I've got Freshman Studies, whatever that is, in an hour?"

"Me, too…let me see if we've got the same section," he replied, moving to look over her shoulder at her schedule. "Yep…okay, well you're the one who knows their way around here, so… lead the way, mamn!"

Brooke knew the perfect place, a quaint little European deli, which happened to be right across the street from the building where their next class was. It was only a five-minute walk over to the deli, a walk either of them could have done effortlessly.

After ordering, and finding a table outside, the two of them sat and chatted away, as if they had been friends forever. Brooke gave him the low down of her date with Noel, making a point to stress the fact that it had been because of Lucas's advice that she even considered a second date. He then shyly confessed that, much like Brooke had expected, Peyton had yet to come around. With that, an idea had popped into her head and she kindly suggested that he perhaps consider pretending to date Felicity, her roommate.

At first the suggestion was overlooked because the reminder of Felicity immediately sparked conversations regarding her "first party experience." The topic only sent them into further tangents of laughter. When they had finally calmed down enough to speak they took turns sharing bits and pieces of Felicity's night until they had put the puzzle together, uncovering just how the unfortunate hangover she had encountered the next day had come to be.

Not one to had her ideas swept under the rug, the cheery brunette pressed further with her proposed strategic plans to get Peyton interested in Lucas.

"Lucas, trust me… what do people want the most? What they can't have…you have to show her that she can't have you; that you're taken. I bet then she'll be singing a different tune!" Brooke proudly stated.

She was convinced that this arrangement would easily work to his benefit. However Lucas felt it would be unfair to Peyton and also Ben, whom he had actually grown to somewhat like over the past few days. After they had hung out together, playing video games, that Sunday afternoon, he had to admit he enjoyed his roommate's company. Ben was fun and saw the world in simple terms. He reminded him a lot of his half brother, Nathan.

Nathan and Lucas's relationship, like Ben and his, had also a started on rather shaky terms. Yet, in the end Nathan turned out to be a stand up guy and a great teammate, friend and brother. They had gone through a lot together in the past two years, having dealt with everything from unlikely marriages, to even less likely arrivals and departures. In fact, Lucas had recently become the god father to his best friend Haley and Nathan's first born son.

Ben had a lot of the same qualities that he admired in Nathan. He was the classic "guy's guy; strong, valiant but a bit confused when it came to ladies. The broody blonde felt as though Ben, much like Nathan had once done, shielded his true self by his basketball career. Lucas couldn't shake the feeling that there was a lot more behind the exterior that Ben showed the world. For one, it seemed women just threw themselves at his feet, but he had no clue why. For some reason, despite his obvious good looks and stature, his roommate was insecure; maybe hiding something. Whichever way, it just didn't seem right to start off any relationship on a lie.

"I dunno? I just feel like that would be lying and I'm not that guy. Plus, I doubt Felicity and I could pull it off anyway…"

…_**Inside Sunday, Monday, pass the time away**_

_**Friday, Saturday's on, here it comes**_

_**And the world's a song that plays along,**_

_**La dee da dee day to die in LA…**_

"Yea. You're probably right about that last one. Neither of you seem to be blessed with the art of deceit." She agreed, flashing him an understanding smile to reassure him that she would take the issue no further.

By then their free time had almost run out. She and Lucas were forced to rush back to campus so that they wouldn't be late.

…

Inside the classroom Peyton and Felicity sat together. At the ever studious one's request the two of them had left the cafeteria absurdly early to reach the classroom. As Peyton had imagined they were the first students to arrive. The flaxen haired girl vehemently pointed that fact out to her new friend. Though, they both had to admit getting to class this early allowed them plenty of time to get situated and take in the surroundings.

…_**And you don't know how you got there**_

_**You don't know why you got there**_

_**Looking outside, outside of yourself…**_

With only seconds before the class was to start both Felicity and Peyton turned their attention to the door, as Brooke and Lucas entered the room out of breath from running. Following right behind them was Ben. All five of them looked around the room taking in the faces before them.

Ben walked straight toward Peyton, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, then sat down in a seat between she and Felicity. Lucas, following Brooke's lead, did the same. All of them now sat together in the back corner of the classroom. The sight was one that amused Brooke a great deal.

_Now, I won't even have to Tivo my favorite soap operas,_ she thought, giggling to herself. _How did I find these amazingly crazy people? Things are going to be interesting for sure…_

Yet, just when Brooke thought she could break out the popcorn and start watching the drama unfold the professor walked in, changing her tune at once.

"Eddie Beurer is our teacher?" She gasped.

"Hey, isn't that our RA?" Ben broke in, looking toward Lucas.

"Uh, yea…Noel I think?"

With that Felicity put the connection together and turned to Brooke with a wide-eyed inquisitive look.

"What?" Brooke defended. "I didn't know he was…"

"Hi everyone. My name's Noel. I'm Professor Dunnagy's teaching assistant. So I'll be filling in for him from time to time. Today's class will be short. All I'm going to do is explain your first assignment. Okay?" He waited for the class to nod. "Alright, your first assignment is essentially an introduction to the class. In high school most of you, at one point or another, probably fell into one of the following stereotypes: JOCK, PROM QUEEN, GEEK, LONER, GOTH." He wrote the titles on the chalkboard. "Or at least people assumed that you did." He turned back to give the class a reassuring smile. "Your assignment is to pick one of these types and explain 1) Why you feel other's categorized you in this group, and 2) How they were wrong. Any questions?"

This assignment meant that they would have to dig into the past. That wasn't something any of them were too keen about doing. So, for the first time since being at USC all five of them felt a twinge of regret.

* * *

*****Lyrics from this chapter are from "To Die In LA," by West Indian Girl*****


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